Just to follow up, if any one is intersted in building eco homes in LS6, please get in touch.

LS6 Eco houses

The vision

LS6 has increasingly become an area of multi-occupancy student housing and high rise flats. Although we support derelict brownfield sites being redeveloped, the huge growth in apartments – many unoccupied, is changing the area in which we live. The huge new developments along Burley Road and Cardigan Road are prime examples.

There is a shortage of housing with green space or gardens. Families are increasingly moving north of Headingley for more space, and Council waiting lists are static, with families being forced into expensive privately owned lettings, where rents are calculated on a per room basis. Schools have been closed in the area, as lack of children has forced schools to merge. St Matthias Primary School currently has only half the number of children needed in Reception and Year One, and may be forced to combine classes. Royal Park Primary has also closed.

Families in the area are looking for new and alternative forms of housing, and in a world where carbon emissions need to be reduced and gas and electricity prices are rising we believe eco houses are the answer. We are not looking to build a ‘hippy commune’, but as a group of residents concerned about the environment we want to build modern, ecological houses with a zero carbon footprint, that will appeal to families and long term residents of the area.

Through working with a housing association the estate will reflect the diversity of our area and instead of a rich ghetto it will be a place where everyone is welcome to live. It will serve as a model to other communities inspiring them to build their own eco communities, challenging local and national government on their housing policy.

We want to build houses and low rise flats set around a communal space. The houses and flats will be carbon neutral, well-insulated, requiring little heating and solar panels will provide electricity. Car and bike ports will be provided on the edge of the estate. There will be communal allotments and public space, it will be a place where people want to get to know their neighbours and where community spirit is fostered.

The estate will be a place of realism, where people are not told what to believe or how to act but a place where eco values are modelled. Individuals, families and communities will set a model by their lifestyle, not judging others but challenging them through a living example.

The community will be a place of safety. Not a closed estate, but a place where everyone is welcome, a place where kids can play in the streets, where neighbours get to know each other and support each other.

The challenge

We are looking for a plot of land where we could build around 20 homes (possibly more it depends on the scope of the land). Ten would be built with a housing association and would be rented / affordable housing and ten would be privately owned. These could be self built or built by a building company with a mortgage from the Ecological Building Society. If there were not enough people wanting to buy/build a house ‘off plan’, a construction company may build the rest and sell them at the market value.

We are looking for land in the Headingley / Hyde Park area. The area is well linked through public transport, through buses and the Leeds – Harrogate trainline.

Potential land:

 96 Cardigan Road – a large house currently boarded up with garden, already marked for development, therefore this may be out of our price range
 84 Cardigan Road – a huge garden next to a probation hostel, belongs to the diocese of Ripon and Leeds, (planning restrictions and tree preservation orders apply)
ï‚· Land around Hinsley Hall
 Leeds Girls High School old site – Have written to Leeds City Council suggesting this as part of the Community Consultation Spring 2007

What does ‘eco’ mean?

We are looking at building high quality homes that are ecologically friendly but that are “normal” enough to be sold on the open market and to keep in line with inflation and national house prices.

Example of eco houses from http://www.livingvillage.com/ourhouses.h...

The houses will be triple glazed and insulated so that they can be heated principally with “waste energy” produced through cooking and body heat. They will have a woodburner for very cold weather. They will use grey water recycling and are expected to have electricity bills of a mere £3 a month, due to energy saving measures and solar panels on the roof. Compost toilets are optional!

How will we make this happen?

Getting land and money to build an eco estate may be hard work but is by no means impossible. Through working with a housing association, not only will we continue to reflect the diversity of Leeds 6, but we will be eligible for grants and funds beyond that of a purely private build. Many forms of financial help are available via our local authorities and other organisations, both private and public who have a keen interest in the area of sustainable development. For example The Environmental Action Fund: Run by DEFRA, the Environmental Action Fund (EAF) offers financial aid to both voluntary and community sector groups to support the Government’s sustainable development projects within England. Grants can range from £25,000 over a year to up to £750,000 over 3 years.

Many other cities are forging ahead with this type of development. Bristol has built an eco estate in St Werburghs on the site of a former factory, Lancaster are in the process of buying land for a co-housing project, (slightly different to what we are suggesting). Then there are much larger projects, including the Bed ZED Project London, which is the largest carbon-neutral eco-community in the UK. It was built in 2002 in Wallington, Surrey and comprises of 82 residential homes.

Another public housing eco-project is the Slateford Green Estate, in Edinburgh. The project, consisting of 120 homes, was developed by a housing association together with the Scottish housing agency, in 2000, at a cost of £9.5 million. Also in Scotland is the Findhorn Foundation, an intentional community, based upon the values of spirituality and sustainable living. Part of its project is an eco-village, which consists of 45 buildings.

What happens now?

At the moment the project has been led by a few families, but we are keen to open it up to anyone interested in being involved, either as a possible resident or as a community consultant.

A lot of what happens will depend on the responses from landowners, however here is a potential timescale for the project over the next few months:

July 2006
- Public meeting in Headingley, to raise awareness and set up formal steering group
- Approach housing associations and landowners

August 2007
- Apply to the Scarman trust for funds for field trips to other eco-sites round the UK and visit sustainable projects

September 2007
- Steering group meets, vision of the group is finalised, what is negotiable, what isn’t etc,
- Field trips take place

October 2007
- Firm up ideas for the estate, apply for grants

For further information

We would love you to be involved in the project, for more information please come to our public meeting at the Cardigan Centre, Cardigan Road in July or contact Jo and Tim Sunderland, 4 The Maltings, Leeds, LS6 1RX
0113 2242818, e-mail, tjsunderland@surefish.co.uk